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Xenologue 1: Twenty-One Years Ago...
“Okay, thanks for joining me out here today!” Her back turned to the group that had gathered out in the clearing, Signele wasn’t able to see who all was there, nor were those who had come able to see the tears welling up in her eyes. Finally she was getting a chance to talk about something that mattered a whole lot to her, to more than just a person or two, and that was enough to make her almost start crying—and when she turned around and saw not just the other shapeshifters of the Shepherds sitting there, but several other people as well, it was enough to start the actual waterworks. “You g-g-guys, I can’t believe you’re all here! Didn’t think so many of you humans would be interested in The Domain!” “To be fair, you only tell a little amount of the story every time you start telling it, so I guess you could say you’ve gotten us all curious.” Joanne, sitting cross-legged against one of the logs that made up the wall for the clearing, gave Signele a small smile, causing the Taguel to tremble a bit more in her emotional state. “And, let me be the first to say that I hope you’re a better storyteller than you are a story writer.” “Her written stories are great, thank you very much.” Taking up the defensive, Jayde hopped to her feet, pointing an accusatory finger in Joanne’s direction. “It’s not her fault you don’t know how to read her writing. My mom can write just fine, thank you very much!” She certainly would have continued trying to argue her mom’s honor, but she was coaxed back down to her seated position by her father, who didn’t seem too thrilled with someone trying to start drama on such a big day for the love of his life. Taking a few deep breaths, Signele looked through everyone who was there just to make sure that no one important was missing, or that people she hadn’t wanted to be there were. Everything seemed to be almost perfectly in order: obviously her family was there, and so were her good friends Joanne, Kayla, Pika, and Maggie, but then there were the scholarly duo of Josh and Bohl; while she didn’t necessarily get along with either of them, how could she deny them the right to be present when she started talking about important stuff from The Domain’s history? There was just one thing wrong… “Hey, guys, where’s George at? I could have sworn he said he’d be here for comic relief when the story gets dark.” No one wanted to answer, as evidenced by the silence that fell over everyone once the question had been asked, and so Signele repeated herself, a little louder and with a little more force. After the second time, there was still no immediate response, so she prepared to give it a third shot when Joos sighed and spoke up. “He’s not going to be able to make it today. Had something come up. Pretty sure he said he was going to be spending today with Grace, or maybe it was Grace and Augustus. Either way, he’s going to be a busy man today.” “Figures he’d tell you and not me,” she muttered in response, flicking one of her long ears back over her shoulder so that she wouldn’t start tugging on it in frustration. “I was so looking forward to whatever kind of grim jokes he could come up with after what I’m going to say.” “I’m sure it’ll be fine!” Kayla piped up, before noticing that just saying that much caught her the attention of everyone present, and she squeaked as she pulled her hat down over her face to hide herself. Still she continued, her voice muffled. “I bet it’ll be better if we aren’t laughing all the time, anyway…” “Yeah, we don’t need him around. Bet he’d make it a game of trying to get us to laugh when you’re up there crying, and that’s not okay. Let him have his canoodling time with his lady, we’ll just have our fun here. Besides, if he’s not around to get us chuckling, maybe that means I’ll actually get to hear about your sister that I look so much like.” Grinning, Pika gave Signele a thumbs-up and hoped that what she and Kayla had said would be enough to get the story going sans the humorous Dark Mage. It most definitely was. “I guess there’s nothing else to do but start telling the story, yeah?” Signele asked, seeing everyone (minus Kayla, who was still obscured by her oversized hat) nod in reply. “Well, I guess, in that case, let’s get started! Everyone to your feet, it’s time to tell a story and become one with nature at the same time!” “You never once told me that this would be a walking trip. Had I know that we would be actively moving in time to the storytelling, I certainly would have dressed in something less suited for leisure and more suited for the chance of battle.” Josh, getting to his feet, motioned to himself and his lack of Sage robes. “You are aware that by having us in a false march, any enemy party we may pass could see this as a sign of attack, and very few of us are armed for any type of battle.” “Father, please to stop. Look, only you are battle unready.” In his typical broken language, Bohl tried to set Josh straight by making a blanket statement, but soon after he let the words escape his mouth, everyone else in the group, sans those whose mode of battle was to transform into a giant creature, admitted that they too weren’t ready for the front lines of an attack, causing Bohl to sputter and stutter as his father shook his head disapprovingly at him. “Come on, we’re less likely to be attacked when we’re walking through the woods than we are if we just sit here. Stop being complainers, will ya?” Maggie, rushing from where she stood to right beside Signele, playfully punched her friend in the arm. “Since I remember what The Domain was like even before it was colonized, I’m sure that walking through unmanned woods will be the perfect mood-setter! Are there going to be Manaketes in the story? Or are you gonna leave them out for your Taguel friends?” Signele, returning the favor of an arm punch back at Maggie, laughed. “You’ll hear it when we get there. Patience. Shouldn’t you have some of that, being like two thousand years old or whatever it is you are?” That got an offended response of the proper age, followed by a lot of giggling between the two as everyone else readied themselves for what storytelling was going to follow on whatever hike it was that Signele had planned. ---- Signele: So here’s how it starts. Twenty-one years ag— Jayde: Mom, that’s not how you rehearsed actually starting the story. Signele: Hush, you! I decided the “beginning by talking about my birth” part wasn’t going to fly. Now if you’ll kindly stop interrupting me, I’m starting this now. Jayde: *grumble* Okay, whatever mom. Joos: I think it’ll be better this way, anyway. Her other opening was a bit…heavy-handed. Signele: Can you two please shut up so I can talk? Maggie: Yeah! Or I’ll turn into a dragon and shut you up! Signele: Not you too, Maggie! Just let me tell the story! Josh: Question. Did The Domain have as many variants of flora as Waydrn has? What about fauna? Did they try to preserve wildlife as we strive to here? Bohl: That is not shushing like Signele asks. Father, please. Josh: It was an educated question, not mindless talk like the others are interrupting with. Signele: Please just let me get started… Joanne: Yes, please start. I’m wildly interested in what you’re going to say. Signele: *sigh* I’m interested too, but no one’s letting me get my words out. Jayde: You could have started like six times already, mom! Just start talking!! Signele: Jayde, shut up! You’re not letting me tell the story! Pika: (This is a disaster already. Maybe George being here would have been okay after all.) Signele: I HEARD THAT. Okay. That’s it. No more talking so I can start. Jayde: How about, instead of saying you’ll start, you just start? Signele: …You’re a genius. Now shut up. Jayde: Fiiiiiine. Smugly, Signele picks up the pace of the march and everyone follows, as she begins to tell her story. Signele: So, again, here’s how it starts. Twenty-one years ago, The Domain was under the fierce rule of a dictator, a Manakete under the guise of a Grandmaster who had named herself Tainted. Her reign was brutal and bloody, as she liked silencing anyone who dared speak against her…but when her people finally decided to take up weapons against her, she was quick to abandon her post and flee. Maggie: I can’t believe one of my Manakete kin was a dictator. Signele: To be fair, she wasn’t exactly being a big, scary dragon when she was in power. When the new rulers came into power, a mix of human, Manakete, and Taguel, they put Tainted to death and made sure to strip away her dragonstone before the execution, so she couldn’t tap into those powers to overcome death. Joos: I don’t understand, though. Wouldn’t a Manakete with complete dragon powers be a much scarier dictator than someone who uses magic, swords, and the power of tactics? Why would she choose— Signele: Because just being someone who can shapeshift wasn’t scary enough. Why else would the rulers all have chosen to pursue classes that weren’t catering to how they were born? They needed some way to be assertive without blending in. Josh: Wasn’t The Domain big on peace? Why would they need a ruler to begin with, much less a plural amount? Signele: I don’t know why they wanted so many leaders when they took power from Tainted. But they had many leaders, and at the coronation parade for them all after the execution, the entire population of the island gathered in the capital city of Onaw, just to see the different leaders from the different walks of life take their place at the helm of the land. Kayla: (Something seems a bit strange about the plants we’re walking through…they feel like nothing I’ve ever touched before. Pika?) Pika: (I hear you, Kayla. They don’t look right either. I’ve only seen some of these flowers in old books before.) Signele: What are you two whispering about back there? Pika: Nothing, Signele. Just keep talking. Signele: Gladly. So that’s where my story really starts, I guess. The day that we of my warren let one of our own join the force of ruling The Domain. She stops walking, and everyone follows suit, wondering why she has paused. As the group watches, Signele takes a deep breath in, lingering a second before exhaling. She then turns around to face everyone, a cloud of confusion in her eyes. Joos: Er, Signele, what’s that look for? Signele: Since when did we start this hike anywhere near a coast? I smell sea water. Joos: We didn’t start near a coast, and we haven’t walked very far at all, so your mind must be playing tricks on you. He takes a deep breath as well, and when he exhales he share the same look of confusion that Signele has. This causes everyone else to follow suit, taking in breaths of the salty air that would indicate they were near some form of water. As everyone tries to figure out what’s going on, Maggie decides to take matters into her own hands and transforms into a dragon, flying up above the trees to see what she can make out in the distance. When she returns to the ground as a human, she’s shocked at what she’s found. Maggie: There’s definitely a coast nearby, guys. And a big city too. We shouldn’t be near anything like that right now, and there really isn’t much like what I just saw back in Waydrn. Something’s up. Signele: Hold on a second. I think I know what’s going on here. Signele gives everyone a hand gesture to stay where they are, and she runs off ahead into the foliage, leaving everyone behind to wait idly. Josh: Figures that she would get too wrapped up in her story to keep an eye on where we are. We will certainly meet our deaths out here in this forest. Joanne: I wouldn’t be so sure. I think Signele’s got a big production going on here, and she’s acting worried to get us all enthusiastic about it. Pika: I don’t know, guys. Kayla and I noticed that the plants aren’t ones native back home. How would Signele, of all people, manage to get non-native plants in Waydrn? Joos: She didn’t. I’ve been with her almost every moment since she planned this story and hike, and there wasn’t anything like this in the plans. Jayde: I agree with my father. She didn’t know this was going to happen. The group hears a familiar scream come from in the distance, and while not everyone is quick to react to it, once the first two people make a mad dash to find where it’s coming from, they are soon to follow. Trekking through untamed trees and plants, the group, being led now by Jayde and Joos both, struggles to find the source of the screaming, until they bust through a foliage wall and end up standing in the middle of what looks like a camp. Joos: What the fuck is— Jayde: Mom? MOM? Where are you? As everyone else enters the camp, Jayde begins frantically searching everywhere, looking for Signele who has since stopped screaming. No place is left safe from the search, and while she’s checking every possible place for any sign of her mom, Kayla makes a discovery simply by turning and noticing a picture laying on a grass cot. She picks it up for closer inspection: Kayla: …I recognize someone in this picture. Josh: That’s preposterous. We are in a camp where we do not belong, most likely occupied by rogue natives who will murder us when they find us, and you think you recognize someone in an image? Kayla: I know I recognize someone. It’s Signele. She hands the picture to Josh, who gasps in surprise when he sees that Kayla is by no means lying about her discovery. He then passes the image on to Bohl, who seems to freeze up when he see it. Through everyone’s hands the picture goes, until it gets to Jayde, who snatched it from her father before he really got a chance to look at it. Jayde: My mom’s trapped in this picture! We need to get her out of it! What kind of sick freak would use dark magic to put someone as great as my mom in a picture? Signele: I’m not in the picture. Poking her head from around another foliage wall, Signele grins, and when Jayde sees her mom still very much alive and in the flesh, she screams, throwing the picture into the air as she runs to hug her mom. Joos catches the picture and finally gets to see it. Joos: …This is a really old picture. Signele, you look like you’re just a kid in this. Signele: In what? He waves the picture a bit, but she doesn’t see it as she’s ducked back behind the wall again. Joos: This picture Kayla found lying around here somewhere. Do you have any idea what this is about? Signele: Yeah, give me a moment and I’ll explain. As they wait for her to come back from the other side of the wall, Joanne begins investigating parts of the camp that hadn’t been ravaged by Jayde’s searching, and she finds herself looking at a much larger picture, painted upon one of the walls. Joanne: You all won’t believe this, but I think I’ve found something even more strange than that one picture. Pika walks over to be beside Joanne, followed by Kayla and Josh. The three newcomers all stare at the painting, all with various shocked expressions on their faces, albeit for different reasons. Kayla: She looks younger than me here… Josh: This is impossible… Pika: Her sister really DID look just like me… Joanne: Er, are you all ignoring that this is a signed image by what seems to be the occupants of this camp? Look, each picture has a name by it. She points at the messy, almost unreadable words beneath the facsimile of Signele on the wall. Joanne: I know that to be how Signele writes her name, although this is clearly done by a much younger version of herself. I take back what I said earlier about this being a planned production. This is clearly some sort of— Her explanation is cut off by the sound of screaming, which catches everyone’s attention. Signele and Jayde run into the room, their arms full of what look to be little stuffed dolls, and they are followed by several other Taguel, all of whom are in beast form. Jayde: W-we got ambushed! Signele: Everyone who isn’t armed, hide! We’ve intruded on sacred property! The two drop their armfuls of dolls and quickly transform into their rabbit selves (Jayde naturally forgetting to remove her glasses and therefore allowing them to snap off her head), and Maggie jumps in beside them as a dragon. Pika reaches for her bow, but remembers that she hadn’t had it on her for the occasion, and so she ducks for cover behind one of the walls, dragging Kayla with her, even though the younger girl seems to have a mostly-used tome on her. Joos grabs that tome when he sees it, flipping through its pages to see how much use he’ll get out of it. Kayla: So you’re allowed to fight but not me? Joos: I have to protect the ladies I love, naturally. If this thing survives the battle, you can have it back. Kayla: *sigh* Okay, fine by me. Josh and Bohl both hide behind the wall as well, completely unarmed, and Joanne is about to do the same until she notices a sword propped against a cot. She grabs it and makes a battle stance next to all the other combatants. The Taguel whose home everyone seems to be in attack first, lunging at the intruders with a ferocity that would spell certain death to anyone who hadn’t ever fought alongside a rabbit before. One of the enemies, an orange-tinted Taguel, jumps onto Signele’s back and makes a move to claw at her, but a quick use of the Wind tome he had stolen from Kayla lets Joos knock them off and allows for Jayde to hop on the enemy’s back instead. Jayde: This is what you get for attacking my mother, bitch! She digs her claws into the orange fur, causing the enemy to scream out in pain. The sound makes Signele scream as well, knocking her daughter away so that she can get close to who had just been attacked. Signele: Chelle? Is that you? The enemy groans, reverting back into their human-like form, and the orange-haired woman with long ears seems to be shocked at Signele talking to her, but she nods, her face contorted in pain. Chelle: How do you know my name…intruder? Signele: It’s me, Signele! Chelle: Signele isn’t here…she’s still at the parade… Chelle’s breathing is labored as the gashes on her back bleed freely. Signele calls for someone to come heal her, but no one comes at it. Changing back into her human form, she then runs from the site of battle and returns moments later with a salve of berries and leaves, treating Chelle’s wounds with the mixture. Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, the battle continues with two other Taguel facing off against Maggie and Joanne. The intruders find themselves cornered, and while Maggie could easily fly up and over the attackers, that would leave Joanne alone to weather the attacks, something the Manakete would never have happen. Before anyone gets too terribly hurt on either side, another gust of Wind magic disrupts the flow of battle, and after her father’s distraction Jayde rushes in, ready to attack. There is no attacking, though, as another scream, one familiar to all, fills the air. The enemy Taguel back off of their cornering, changing back into human forms and revealing themselves to be two more ladies. With the impending attack over, Maggie goes back to her own human form and she and Joanne both look to who they assume is the one screaming. Signele: Er…that’s not me, guys. Chelle: Signele… Signele: THAT is me, though. What do you need? Chelle: Not you, intruder. Signele’s home. The two ladies who had been enemy forces run off to find the source of the screaming, both calling out about how there were intruders and there was fighting and such. This leaves the room mostly silent, aside from the screaming in the distance, and when that fades off as well, everyone is left unsure of what to say. In the other room where they had taken shelter, everyone discusses what has just happened. Kayla: So they were just fighting people from Signele’s past? Josh: Maybe we have become trapped in a memory of hers. Perhaps once we have all convened once more we can present that to her. How odd that she talked about The Domain and we seem to have ended up there. Bohl: Perhaps this is a big joke? Lots of fun to be had, much laughing? Pika: No way, there’s just no way. We’re in her past, definitely, but how are we here? What’s the point of us being here? How do we leave? Kayla: What if we can’t leave? This place is doomed, right? Pika: Yeah, it sure is… Josh: Nonsense. Maybe we have come here to save it from certain doom, and that is why we are in the house of a Taguel family on the island of The Domain. Or maybe we are all dreaming, and once we wake we will realize how absurd this all is. Signele: I can hear you four, you know. Everyone groans at the sound of Signele’s voice, and they re-enter the room she and everyone else are in after she speaks. They are greeted with the sight of their friends and comrades sitting around waiting for whatever is to happen when the other Taguel come back, as well as Signele still treating those gashes on Chelle’s back. Josh: Er, why are you aiding the enemy? Shouldn’t you take this moment to finish them off? Signele: Chelle’s not an enemy. She’s my friend. Pika: Your friends ambushed everyone? Signele: To be fair, it’s their right to do that. Young Taguel aren’t exactly the most keen on knowing friend from foe, but none of them were attacking with any lethal force. Chelle: A Taguel is an ally, no matter if they’re from this warren or another. We would never kill you or your Manakete friend. Your human companions, however… Joos: In hindsight, we shouldn’t have armed ourselves. Joanne: Indeed. A big regret. Chelle: How dare you bring such humans into a sacred place? Signele: I didn’t know they were going to follow me. Hell, I didn’t know this was where I was going to end up until I was here. Chelle: Hmph, more proof that you aren’t the Signele I know. She would never forget where her home is. Signele: …Heh, yeah, good point. Jayde, fumbling through her bag for a new pair of glasses, squints in the relative direction of where Signele and Chelle are. Jayde: Moooooooooom, why are you being friendly with someone who tried to kill you? Chelle: Did she just refer to you as…? Signele: Time travel shenanigans, am I right? The group laughs, passing their time waiting for the others to come in with laughter and explanation of what just happened. For now, everything is peaceful. ---- A small group of people find their boat coming ashore. In the distance, the capital city of the island rises above the trees. As everyone disembarks from the boat, bringing with them an armored horse and a pegasus, they take a moment to look at the untamed lands before them, standing between them and the capital. Their leader, as he climbs up on his horse, makes a statement. ???: Looks like we’ll be doing a bit of hiking before we make it to Onaw. What a perfect time to begin work on those maps, eh? He looks over to one of his companions, the one climbing onto the back of her pegasus, and he chuckles. ???: Audi, once you’ve got your footing, fly up and scour the trees for any sign of paths. Everyone else, start marking what matters of this beach. The first time outsiders have been allowed in The Domain in decades, and we’re going to explore it to the best of our abilities. The group disperses, but before the Falcon Knight, Audi, takes her leave, she approaches the leader with a worried expression. Audi: Aren’t you a bit worried about natives, Sir Gideon? Gideon: Natives of this land are weak creatures. They’ll give us no trouble. Just find a path, and whatever we encounter along it will be no match for our strength. Audi: Yes, sir. I’ll do my best, sir. Gideon: Quit being so formal with me. We’re equals on this endeavor to map The Domain. > XENOLOGUE 2: FIGHT OF THE MAPMAKERS Current Party The Shepherds *Signele. Taguel. Last surviving inhabitant of The Domain. Also a giant bunny sometimes. *Joos. Grandmaster. A traveler with no memory of the past, but a gift for tactics. *Maggie. Manakete. An innocent Manakete with a penchant for theatrics. *Pika. Sniper. A peppy Shepherd, always ready to follow her Tactician's command. *Kayla. Mage. A hyperactive mage who can't wait to prove herself as more than just a kid. *Josh. Sage. A meticulous, methodical Shepherd with just a bit of whimsy. *Joanne. Cavalier. A quiet knight who waits for the perfect moment to speak up. Future Children *Jayde. Taguel. A hyperactive Taguel obsessed with the goal of making the species thrive. *Bohl. Mage. A confusing youth with incredible intelligence and not so great speech patterns. The Mapmakers *Gideon. Great Knight. A well-traveled knight with the desire for one last hurrah before retirement. *Audi. Falcon Knight. Claims to be a kind soul, but seems to be not what she claims at all, particularly in battle. Information *This xenologue was posted to the Total Drama Writers' Forum here. Category:Story Category:DLC Category:Xenologues